I'll Be Home For Christmas
by Dah Puzzle Masta
Summary: It's Christmas time again in Mineral Town! But Rick can't seem to really enjoy himself this time around in the Inn on Christmas Eve... Contains: More Friends of Mineral Town, Another Wonderful Life or Ds Cute, and some slight Game Boy Color 3 and Tale of Two Towns. Enjoy!


**Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year! :)**

Just another Saturday night at the local Inn... That's what it felt like. But in reality, it was anything but.

It was the annual Christmas Eve Festival, where the entire population of Mineral Town and the neighboring Valley, Forget-Me-Not, all cram ourselves into the fully decked Inn for a Christmas party. People whom you would never see here otherwise made the Inn much more lively than it would have been without them. Such as my sister and her husband, my mother, Ellen, who had to be taken here on a wheel chair and wasn't allowed out of her house otherwise, and many others that I won't care to list.

I stared down the seeming abyss of my untouched glass of eggnog. What to do, what to do? I looked down at my old watch, the watch my father gave me just before he left, to find the time.

'Ten o clock?' I thought to myself. 'I've just been sitting here for four hours?' I had to figure out a way to at least muddle through the next two hours until the midnight Secret Santa gift exchange. I had someone extremely hard to buy or make for, but I'd managed. You want to know who it is? Well, you'll find out soon. If I told you now, I'd spoil half the story for you!

I decided to pass the time looking at all the decorations. You couldn't get any more Christmassy than the room I found myself in that Christmas Eve. Holly and mistletoe lay spread throughout the room. Accenting the giant Christmas tree just right. I looked down at what I was wearing, only to realize that I looked more like Christmas than the room! (Not really though, that's just an exaggeration.) Last Christmas, my mother made Christmas themed ponchos for all of Mineral town and for her lady friends over in the Valley. They were all the same, zigzagged stripes going side to side in the colors red and green. The only difference would be whether it was red then green, or green then red. My sister and I, being her children, were the only ones who got anything different. Ours were a light blue and depicted a beautiful snow scene. I was rather proud of my poncho, and made it a point to make it a tradition of mine to wear it all through December up to the 25th. Only taking it off just before I go to bed in order to put it to wash. Underneath the poncho was my normal, ironically green attire.

Well, that was over. What next?

I decided to, this time; observe the people around me. I started with the two behind the counter I had been sitting by all night. They were two men. One was Doug, the innkeeper and an armature bartender when the Inn became the perfect place for such a man at nightfall. He was, as all good bartenders do, taking care of customers, cleaning dishes and talking to the other man. Beside him talking and helping was Griffin, the local bartender of Forget-Me-Not Valley's Blue Bar and Doug's good friend. He was an expert guitar player, and I recalled hearing Doug time and time again telling him to take off and go play. 'Naw,' He would say. 'I actually enjoy helping and talking to you more!' After the fifth time, Doug just gave up and let Griffin do as he wished. They were both wearing the stereotyped tacky sweater. You know the kind, the Christmas themed ones that have WAY too much going on and which you almost expect to light up, though it almost never really does. The ones that, even though they're called considered "ugly", everyone still seems to love.

I looked to my right to see my wife sitting beside me. Talking to her cousin from the Valley and drinking eggnog. While I myself was still on my first glass, she had just finished her tenth and was asking for another one. Only Karen could drink THAT much eggnog in such a short amount of time. She was going to wear the poncho Mom made for her, but when she overheard she and her best friend talking about having all the ladies wear them, she decided that it would be best to just stick with her green sweater. Festive enough, without making the room look even more like a walk-in Christmas tree then it was already going to. Next to her was her cousin, Celia. She was talking to Karen and was, like me, still on her first glass of eggnog. Although, unlike me, she was half done with it. And I honestly don't think she intended to get another as I did if I ever got through the first. She wasn't wearing anything particularly Christmassy or even wintery. Just her normal, everyday clothes. Even though they WERE green, she really did look plain. She didn't really like Christmas, and for a bit of a strange reason. She didn't like it because of the reason a lot people do like it, more than otherwise anyway, the fact that it was in winter. She hated winter! She hated how cold it was and the fact that most crops died this time of year. It was a bit odd. Most people would be more than happy not to have to work so hard considering that the farm she worked on had plenty of money to get them through worklessness quit comfortably. I could kind of understand her, though. After all, how would I like it if all my beloved chickens died when winter came round? I would hate it too! I know it's nowhere near the same thing, but at least I'm trying to relate to her. Next to Celia sat her husband, Marlin. Who sat listening to the girls' and the bartenders' conversations and throwing in a word or two every once in a blue moon. He wasn't much of a talker. He sat in front of his newly refilled glass of eggnog. Refilled for the ninth time. He wasn't quite as far as Karen, but he was getting there. He wore his usual outfit, but, since he actually liked winter and Christmas to a certain extent, a Santa hat rested on his head. Adding a festive heir to the cold, seemingly heartless man.

Next, I looked towards the kitchen, where seven women bustled about behind the open door and at times went out into the party for one purpose or another. This was the tradition of the middle aged women, always kicking out anyone who dared try and help them. They cooked, they brought the food to the buffet table outside where everyone else was, they brought the empty dishes in, and they gossiped. The entire lot of the 'Kitcheneres' and they jokingly called themselves, all wore my mom's Christmas ponchos. Including my mom herself. I watched as the women came out in groups of one and two to clear out the table once more. The first two to come out was Manna, the town gossip, and Anna. I'd heard them talking about all sorts of gossip throughout the night. This time, they were whispering about how "Samantha gave Grant divorce papers, but he doesn't want to sign them!" I rolled my eyes. Manna probably wasn't telling the truth. Although, it actually didn't sound too far from it. Samantha, her husband Grant, and their daughter Kate moved into Forget-Me-Not Valley not terribly long ago. From the very beginning the couple had deep-seated problems, and Samantha never even seemed to be around. She never attended the festivals, and almost didn't seem like she was married to the man in the first place. It was sad, and I felt bad for Grant and Kate. And why Manna had to go and start her weakly rumor surrounding them was beyond me. Perhaps that was one of the reasons her daughter, Aja, left for the city and never came back… Her mother's gossiping nature.

The next two out were my mom and her best friend from childhood, Sasha. Who also happened to be Karen's mother, therefore my mother-in-law. They made me nervous when they talked. 'What are they talking about?' I would always wonder, hoping that they weren't sharing personal information about me and or Karen with each other that would be better left unsaid. My mother was, unfortunately, the worst offender when it came to that. We lived with her! She knew when we were happy, she knew when we were upset, she knew when we fought and when we didn't. She wasn't the kind of woman to pry into other people's business, but when she told Sasha, the information quickly got to Jeff, Karen's father and Sasha's husband. More than once already I've gotten Jeff threatening me due to something that happened like a fight between me and my wife. 'Every couple fights sometimes.' I would always say. Every time surprised by the timid man's dangerous threats. It wasn't that me and Karen fought a lot, in fact, we only fought like… Twice throughout our three months of marriage. That's actually pretty good! But then there were the years of dating which also resulted in Jeff's threats. Since Karen would always visit my family most of the time, the situation with our mother's conversations was the same. Whenever I heard them talking tonight, they were discussing how much we'd grown since the day we were born. Nothing they said was very embarrassing or dangerous or nerve-racking. Until now, of course.

"Karen tells me she wants to have kids." Sasha said. 'Why didn't I know about this?' I thought. "Do you know anything about this?"

"Not about Karen, but I know Rick wants children. I think they will have them eventually, but…" I quickly looked away as their gaze turned to my wife beside me. "Karen is going to need to change a lot before that can happen." I sighed as I looked towards Karen, ordering yet another eggnog.

"And make it extra strong!" She said with that drunken smile plastered on her face. I sighed once more.

'Yep,' I thought. 'she is gonna need to change… A lot.'

Sasha and my mother out of an earshot, I caught Chris, a woman from the Valley who worked in the city, and Ruby, the wife of the innkeeper of Forget-Me-Not Valley, walking behind. All night they'd spoken of nothing but food and their kids.

"I can't believe Hugh is already sixteen!" Chris cried. "And even more unbelievable is the fact that he's actually dating the girl who used to bully him all the time!" She was referring to Kate, of course. Hugh used to constantly be bullied by the girl. Much to everyone's surprise, since he was the strongest kid I knew at the time. Plus he was the son of an extremely tough athlete, of all people! But, those days over, Hugh and Kate began to date. And the whole Valley could have sworn they would be married one day. They were right of course. "I can't believe Rock's already married!" Ruby continued the conversation. It was an absolute miracle that man got married! So lazy and such a flirt. Lucky for him he married a rich girl and therefore had to do no work beyond what he wanted to do. The two women came out of my earshot, and into it came the Valley's most manly woman and Marlin's sister-Vesta. She had no one with her, so there wasn't much to hear other than her large footsteps and heavy laugh as she took a large bowl of punch over to the buffet table. I watched as each of the women either cleared something out of the table or set something on it. On the way back to the kitchen, Anna stopped beside an elderly man who had been sitting alone on his own will. Many people had tried and failed throughout the night to get him to have some fun, but to no avail. He wore a hand-knitted Christmas sweater, one his late wife Nina had given him the Christmas before last. She never lived to see another one.

Two years ago she died and he was still sad beyond belief. Never talking, never smiling, and always visiting the Blue Bar. "I know this is hard on you, Galen." Anna said sympathetically to her father-in-law. "It's been hard for all of us! I loved her too, and so did Basil, and so did Mary… We all did! But she wouldn't want you to sit around and be sad the rest of your life! She'd want you to enjoy life! Especially at Christmas time!" He looked up at her with sad eyes, and she gave him a warm smile. "Why don't you go and spend some time with Mary? She's your granddaughter, after all!" Galen let a small smile creep across his face and he nodded. I looked away from the scene as the man got up so he wouldn't notice me staring.

My attention soon went to a small group consisting of Ellen on her wheelchair, Ellen's granddaughter and the town nurse, Elli, Elli's husband and the town doctor, Trent, Ellen's best friend, Romana, and Romana's loyal butler, Sebastian. Everyone in the small group surrounded Ellen's chair, all of them talking about Nina, who had been a best friend to Romana and Ellen up until she died. It wasn't what they'd been talking about the whole time, but the conversation had turned to that subject when I actually paid attention to them. Poor Ellen… Not many had survived her generation and made it even as far as the late saint of a woman did. She was young when Ellen was young, she was the only one in town who'd experienced Mineral Town all the way back when it was called Flowerbud Village and was located someplace else. Nina was with Ellen when the local farmer at their youth, with whom she had fallen in love, left the town under unexplained circumstances. She was there when the town had to grow and so many things changed as the people did. She was there for her when her mother died and she was forced to open a farm with her father who happened to be a very bad one. She was there when Ellen married the love of her life, Carl. She was there through it all! And now… she was gone. Nina was gone. And Ellen may have even been taking it harder than Galen himself! At first at least… It was a good thing she had her granddaughter, grandson-in-law, best friend, and good friend to comfort her. Only after these thoughts raced through my mind did I realize that Ellen, Elli, and Trent were all wearing my mom's ponchos. Romana was wearing an extremely elegant red dress, and Sebastian wore a tuxedo with a red flower in his coat lapel.

Next I turned my attention towards My sister, her husband, and the group who was with them. I first thought of him… When this Summer first hit, I all but hated him… Kai. That was his name, Kai. Let's just put it this way: When my sister Popuri was little, before she could remember, Kai was a teenager. Like myself. He came to town without warning and opened a snack shop on the beach. None of the men liked him. But the girls and women all loved him. I myself was indifferent at the time. Over the Summer Kai basically broke the hearts of all the girls in town, including Karen's. I, being in love with Karen and just plain caring about common decency, didn't like Kai after that, and proceeded to not have anything to do with him. It lasted quite some time before Popuri became eligible for dating. Who did Kai decide he now wanted to date? (Or get close to, anyway) Popuri! That's when I began to almost hate him. I would have hated him whole heartedly if it wasn't wrong to do so. No one should fully hate in my opinion. But I wanted to hate Kai. How could he try to get involved with my sister when he was more than willing to dump a girl at any given moment?! Years passed after that and I struggled to keep Popuri away from him to keep her heart from being broken… Even though she told me time and time again that she hated me for it. This Summer came, and he proposed to Popuri! I was so furious! But, long story short, Kai made amends with me through the girls who's hearts he had broken. And then they married and went off to see the world September come.

It broke my heart when she left. My father leaving left enough of a hole inside of me. Popuri leaving for three whole months, knowing that they would leave again in January and not come back until June made my heart break a little more every time I thought about it. Kai only coming in the Summer used to be such a great thing… Not anymore. At least they came for December. Not that they were guaranteed to come in the winter ever again…

On a happier note, coming to Mineral Town this December was Kai's first experience in the freezing cold weather, and watching him was hilarious! While Popuri skipped about, satisfied in her one jacket, gloves and thick stockings, Kai walked ever so slowly, shivering in his many layers covering every inch of his body other than his eyes. The funniest part of the whole month was when he first opened the door to my family's poultry farm and a huge pile of snow fell right on top of him! He looked like he was going to cry!

My train of thought broke when I felt my wife poking at me. I turned to look and her and she leaned in closer in order to whisper something in my ear.

"I know right? I can't believe they ACTUALLY wore that!" I looked back at my sister's group in order to figure out exactly what Karen was talking about, and it immediately hit me when I noticed how Popuri and Kai were dressed as Christmas elves. Pointy shoes, hats, and ears and all! I smiled and chuckled as I turned back to Karen.

"I couldn't agree more!" Seemingly satisfied with my response, Karen turned back to her conversation with Celia. I looked back to the group that currently held my attention and observed those surrounding my family. To Popuri's right stood her best friend and the local Jack-of-all-trades who ran the animal and crop farm in town, Claire. She wore my mom's poncho and stood next to her husband and the judge of our annual Cooking Festival, a man known formally as "The Gourmet". Gourmet was his last name, but only Claire seemed to know his first. He wore a full Santa costume and looked absolutely perfect for the part. Just looking at him would make any small child want to jump right on his lap and tell him what they wanted to receive tomorrow morning. In the man's arms was his and Claire's adorable little girl, Pumpkin. She wore a reindeer costume that just made me want to sequel at her shear adorableness! A full brown body suit with an antler headband and a nose painted red made up the extremely cute costume. The little girl clutched onto her father's neck as he held her. She didn't really have much time to be with him considering the fact that he only came to town on the Cooking Festival and on important days of the year. Birthdays, his anniversary, and Christmas being included.

Next to the Gourmet stood a man who gave me the bejeebies just looking at him. Claire's brother-in-law, Skye. A former thief who did a year of time in jail before being bailed out by who knows who. Since that happened, he married Claire's sister, had a daughter, and stayed completely innocent in the eyes of the law. Even though he had been clean for quit some time, it still unnerved me when I saw him. He was, like Karen, wearing normal clothes with a sweater as the top. Only in his case the article of clothing was red rather than green. In his arms was his daughter, Angel. Angel was wearing one of those red felt dresses with the white furry trim along all the edges. Kind of like a Mrs. Clause costume without actually being one. She wore black stockings and matching shoes. And her boyish brown hair was left undone.

Beside Skye stood his wife, Claire's sister, Popuri's close friend, and the same thing as Claire was only to Forget-Me-Not Valley, Jill. She wore the same kind of dress and stockings as her daughter did. She wore black heals on her feet and left her hair completely down with a small, black rose stuck behind her ear. She also wore fairy-like green makeup and glitter covered her face. Next to her stood her and Claire's brother, Pete. Pete didn't live in either Mineral Town or Forget-Me-Not Valley. He lived in a distant town by the name of Flowerbud Village. A different Flowerbud from the one Ellen and Nina live in, though. Once I found out that he was a farmer, I guess I made a weird face because Claire immediately told me how they came from a long line of farmers. Made sense to me then, still makes sense to me now! He wore nothing particularly Christmassy, but something Wintry enough. He wore a grey sweater and otherwise normal clothes. That and a badly matching blue baseball cap put on backwards. Beside him stood his wife who helped run the farm. Sara. She wore the same thing her husband did, and in her arms she held their son, Jack. The newborn baby who had been born just last week here in town wore one of those newborn outfits which was green and which had an elf design on the front. He wore red pants, Christmas themed socks, red mittens, and a red pacifier. That kid was too cute. Next to Sara stood Lillian, a distant relative of Pete, Claire and Jill. I think she's their fourth cousin or something. She worked as, you guessed it, a farmer in a distant town. I still to this day can't remember whether she lived in a place called Konohana or Bluebell. She kept talking about both. She wore one of those ugly sweaters. The same kind that Griffin and Doug wore. Beside her and also Kai was her husband, a former traveling musician by the name of Mikhail. He wore an ugly sweater like his wife. In his arms was their daughter, Ling. She, like her parents, wore an ugly sweater.

I smiled as I heard Popuri telling the rest of the group about her recent first, "exhilarating" experience on an airplane. And that's the moment I came to terms with it… She didn't belong in this little town, she belonged out in the world. And although I would miss her dearly whenever she wasn't around, I would wholeheartedly let her go.

My attention was stolen away from my sister when I heard the loud, cackling laugh of Kate in the corner. I looked over to see her and Hugh, along with May and Stu, the two teens of Mineral Town, both sixteen and dating, standing in the corner drinking hot chocolate and licking on the peppermint sticks their mugs came with. I smiled as I watched them and remembered when I was a teenager. I was the only boy my age, but it didn't really matter, I could get along with girls! My best friend, Karen, was a girl, after all. I was so in love with her… How she didn't know until I told her a couple of years back I have no clue. May and Stu wore my mom's ponchos. While Hugh and Kate both wore red football jerseys with the number "01" on it, jeans, and extremely comfy looking snow boots. On the back of the jerseys, I later found out, Hugh's said "Boyfriend" and Kate's said "Girlfriend". Ah, youth!

The next group I saw was an odd one to be sure. It consisted of Patrick and his twin brother Kassey, the self proclaimed best fireworks creators in the world who lived in the Valley. I didn't believe them, though. There were far too many fireworks and fireworks makers on this earth to be able to say that any one or two were the best. I'd have to see it all before I could decide that. In the group was a rather philosophical modern artist from the Valley. He was always mumbling about this and that and never seemed to be satisfied. His works consisted mainly of abstract sculptures, his own house included! The only other person in this eye-catching group was Daryl, a mad scientist. Also from the Valley. I know he was related somehow to Doctor Trent, I just can't for the life of me remember how. They all wore what they usually wore, another thing that made them stand out from everyone else.

My attention was taken this time around faster than any time before when I heard the loud, gruff voice of Mineral Town's local policeman and mayor's son, Harris, yelling "Murrey! Give that back right now!" I turned to see Harris and Murrey, a homeless, crazy man who lived in the Valley. He was holding a purse and a sad look was plastered on his face.

"I wasn't supposed to take this?" He asked the policeman. He nodded. Murrey then walked over to Romana and handed her the purse he was holding. "I'm sorry, Ma'am."

"That's all right, Dear." And at that, Murrey went over to the buffet table and began to eat as Harris went to a group of most of the men of the town and valley talking. Sure to keep an eye on Murrey. I looked at him. He was certainly a strange man. He was homeless and starving. Owning only the clothes on his back. People were always offering help to the man. Everyone I know has offered to let him stay at their house. Use their shower, eat their food, anything to help him out. Popuri and Kai have even offered to take him with them to find Popo Valley, the place Murrey and his supposed family used to live, and he refused! He's always going to the eating festivals at the Valley and stuffing his face. Sometimes, he'll even steal from people! Although, once accused, he'll apologize for any harm done, return what was taken if possible, and never do that particular thing again! For example, I remember Jill telling me how he broke into her food storage on her farm and ate almost all the food in it until she told him to give it back. He did so and never came back. He was always begging for money so he can "get back home", but uses it all up at the Blue Bar. He's always calling everyone "Moi" regardless of what their name actually was… He was very strange. Very strange indeed.

I looked over to group Harris had seemed to disappear to. There was Saibara, the local blacksmith. Barley, the local rancher. Zach, the local shipper and the man who had a crush on my mom. Duke, the local wine shop owner and Manna's husband. Basil, the local botanist, Anna's husband, and Galen and Nina's son. Jeff, the general store owner, Sasha's husband, and Karen's father (therefore my father-in-law). Thomas, the town mayor and Harris' father. Gotz, the lonely carpenter who lived in the mountains. Wally, an athlete from the Valley, Chris' husband, and Hugh's father. Takakura, an old friend of Jill's late father and who helps her with her farm, and the man who used to teach Popuri about taking care of the poultry farm and the chickens themselves every Sunday when we would visit. Tim, Forget-Me-Not Valley's local inn keeper and Ruby's husband, a man who wasn't always around and a former wonderer along with his wife. Grant, the formerly mentioned business man and Kate's father, the one with the rumored divorce papers. Won, the local cheapskate who owned a shop on the beach. Harvey, Forget-Me-Not's local doctor who used to be a traveling one who only came every once in a while to check on everyone. Carter, an archaeologist living and working in Forget-Me-Not Valley. And, of course, Harris. They all wore my mom's ponchos except for Carter, who wore a deep blue sweater.

I turned to look at the group that made the music. On the floor leaning against the wall was a former wondering musician who found his way the Valley, whom I could have sworn at first was a lepricon Gustafa, playing the guitar and singing Jingle Bells. He wore his usual attire. And although it was green and looked Christmassy enough, he looked more like Saint Patrick's Day then Christmas. Sitting around him were the other people singing. First, there was Nami. She was, as well as Gustafa, a former wonderer who found herself in the Valley as well. She wore a silver colored, glitter-spangled sweater on top, black tights on the bottom, and black, thigh-high boots on her feet. The fact that she was singing was quite a surprise, considering the fact that she was always the headstrong, silent kind who usually wouldn't dare sing. After Nami I noticed Lumina, Romana's granddaughter, the rich girl of the Valley. She wore an elegant black dress with matching, long gloves and high-healed shoes. She wore a red rose with black edges in her hair. Artificial yet stunning. She wore dark makeup, much unlike her usual light makeup, and sat beside her husband and Tim and Ruby's son, Rock. He wore a casual tuxedo, a mix between his married family's fine tastes and his own laid-back ones. Carter, not the archaeologist, but Mineral Town's pastor, (same name, different everything else) was also there. He wore his usual robes. Then there was Flora, Carter the archaeologist's wife, assistant, and fellow archaeology academic. She wore, like her husband, a deep blue sweater. Muffy, Griffin's wife and a waitress at the Blue Bar, stood instead of sitting. Not caring to mess up her 50s style red dress, white gloves, and black booties on the "dirty" floor. Ann, Doug's daughter who helped him with the Inn, and her husband, Karen's cousin who was yet another wonderer until he came upon Mineral Town, Cliff, also sat in matching ugly sweaters. Then there was Grey, Saibara's grandson and assistant blacksmith. He wore his normal clothes and hat, only with a red jacket rather than his light beige one. Next to him was his wife, Basil and Anna's daughter, Galen and Nina's granddaughter, and the local librarian, Mary. She wore her usual attire, except her dress was red rather than blue. Next to Mary sat Galen. Who, at this point, had finally gotten into the Christmas spirit thanks to his granddaughter. The end of the song came and Gustafa made a face, much to the surprise of everyone with him.

"What happened?" Nami asked.

"Can anyone help with the Carol of Bells? I need more instruments… And voices"

After a few minutes, Doug had gotten a supply of extra instruments, and soon after, Griffin sat with another guitar, Mikhail stood with a violin, Mary sat at an electric piano, Lillian stood with a flute, Pete with an orcarana, and everyone else with their voices.

"_Hark how the bells,  
Sweet silver bells,  
All seem to say,  
Throw cares away_

Christmas is here,  
Bringing good cheer,  
To young and old,  
Meek and the bold,

Oh how they pound,  
Raising the sound,  
O'er hill and dale,  
Telling their tale,

Gaily they ring  
While people sing  
Songs of good cheer,  
Christmas is here,

Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas,  
Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas,  
On on they send ,  
On without end,  
Their joyful tone to every home  
Dong Ding dong ding, dong Bong"

Everyone cheered and went right back to where they were previously. I stood looking around and wondering what to do. It was only ten thirty at night and I was still bored out of my mind.

"Something wrong? Four and a half hours and you still haven't touched your eggnog." Griffin asked.

I thought about it. Why was I upset? It must have been last night… You see, Kai and Popuri came to us yesterday and told us that they were expecting a child! And to make things better, the due date was in the Summer when they were going to be visiting! What was the problem? It made me think about my father. He missed both Popuri and my own weddings, and now he was bound to miss the birth of his first grandchild. He had left twenty years ago on September first. He left in order to find a cure for my ailing mother, a flower rumored to bloom in the desert once every then years. To that day I didn't even know if it existed… still! I still remembered it rather vividly. The way my then four year old sister cried when he told her he wouldn't be back for a while. When he asked my fifteen year old self to protect my mother and sister… He said he would be home for Christmas, though. And I waited every Christmas day for five years before I gave up on him completely. Next year come, I could enjoy the season once again. But this year thoughts of my father had taken over my mind and made me an empty pit of misery on the night before Christmas.

I was jolted back to life when I heard a "Rick, are you okay Rick?" from Griffin.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Your eggnog's got residue on the top, what do you want to do with it?"

"Just throw it out and put it on my tab." And that's when Karen interrupted.

"No! Don't throw it away! I'll drink it! As long as you make it extra heavy!" I watched as Griffin took a toothpick, removed the residue from the eggnog, added some cinnamon and… what Karen had wanted in it, and handed it to her as that same drunken smile from earlier returned to her face. I sighed.

'Yep,' I thought. 'she's got a lot of changing to do.'

I looked around for something to do. 'I'm sure Doug and Griffin would like me to help them… Nah. How about I talk with Karen and Celia? I'd probably regret that… Marlin? He's not much of a talker, I'd probably regret that too… I could help the women in the kitchen if I told Mom how I was feeling… Yeah right. Ellen and her group? Too depressing, I don't think I can take it anymore! Popuri and Kai and their group? I think I'd start crying. The Valley's… interesting characters? I know a little about fireworks and art and science. You have to know at least a little about biology to be a farmer, even a poultry farmer, I mean, right? No, just no. Kate, Hugh, Stu and May? Too old. The men? Too many people talking at once. Gustafa and his little choir? I don't feel like singing. Who's left? … Murrey. I might as well, it seems like we can relate. If only a little…' I looked over to him as he sat sadly behind the buffet table, no food on it since the women were clearing it out before bringing more food.

I walked over to him and sat down beside him. I didn't look at him, and he didn't look at me. We sat there in silence for a few moments. 'I can't belief I'm sitting in Misery Corner when people like Galen and Marlin are enjoying themselves.'

"Hey, Murrey." I said after letting go of a long sigh.

"Hey, Moi." He replyed.

"It's um… It's Rick, actually." I rubbed the back of my head as I spoke, but didn't look at him by any means. He sighed in frustration.

"Sorry, Moi-I mean, Rick… I don't got a very good memory."

"That's all right…"

"The only name I can seem to remember is my own… And I guess I just label everyone else as the same thing… 'Moi'."

"Um, your name is Murrey, remember?"

"Is it? Oh, well…" He sighed.

"So… Did you really live in… Popo valley? Was it?"

"Yeah. And that name I remember good! … Do you know what people think about me?"

"Um, yeah… They think you're a… that you're a… a…"

"A homeless, mindless weirdo?" He caught me off guard with this statement, causing me to look at him for the first time in this conversation.

"Um… Yeah, kinda…" I looked away again. "Sorry."

"That's alright… It's not your fault… I guess they're right…"

I thought of a rebuttal. How could I say anything comforting? What would I possibly say? "That's not true." Or "They don't know you."? I wouldn't want to lie.

Murrey began to talk again before I could form an answer.

"I miss my family… I really do. My mind just don't let me leave town, if you know what I mean. I ain't all that good in my head." I nodded.

"I understand… Tell me about your family?" He smiled when he heard the word "family". The first smile I saw that day that was actually warm and refreshing to see. I looked over at him and smiled back as I awaited an answer.

"I had a wife and two daughters. My wife was so beautiful, and so were my little baby girls… Probably aren't girls anymore, though. I think they'll be at least thirty and thirty-two by now… If they're even alive…" Both of our smiles melted to frowns when he said this.

"Don't think like that…"

We both sat in silence, looking down to the ground, before we heard a voice in little choir which rather caught our attention.

"Attention, please everyone!" We looked up to see Rock, standing up with one of Doug's microphones in hand. "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! Listen up for the musical styling's of Nami Frenchi!" Nami stood up and waved to the rest of the room as she took the microphone from Rock. Rock sat down, and Nami began to sing.

_"I don't want a lot for Christmas  
There is just one thing I need  
I don't care about the presents  
Underneath the Christmas tree_

I just want you for my own  
More than you could ever know  
Make my wish come true  
All I want for Christmas  
Is you

I don't want a lot for Christmas  
There is just one thing I need  
And I don't care about the presents  
Underneath the Christmas tree

I don't need to hang my stocking  
There upon the fireplace  
Santa Claus won't make me happy  
With a toy on Christmas Day"

Nami held out her hand for Gustafa to take. With a surprised look on his face, he did. And she pulled him quikely up to his feet as she sang… to him.

_"I just want you for my own  
More than you could ever know  
Make my wish come true  
All I want for Christmas is you  
You baby_

Oh I won't ask for much this Christmas  
I won't even wish for snow  
And I'm just gonna keep on waiting  
Underneath the mistletoe

I won't make a list and send it  
To the North Pole for Saint Nick  
I won't even stay awake to  
Hear those magic reindeer click

'Cause I just want you here tonight  
Holding on to me so tight  
What more can I do?  
Baby all I want for Christmas is you  
You

Oh all the lights are shining  
So brightly everywhere  
And the sound of children's  
Laughter fills the air

And everyone is singing  
I hear those sleigh bells ringing  
Santa won't you bring me the one I really need?  
Won't you please bring my baby to me?

Oh I don't want a lot for Christmas  
This is all I'm asking for  
I just want to see my baby  
Standing right outside my door

Oh I just want you for my own  
More than you could ever know  
Make my wish come true  
Baby all I want for Christmas is  
You baby

All I want for Christmas is you baby  
All I want for Christmas is you baby  
All I want for Christmas is you baby"

Gustafa kissed her gently on the head as she finished the song. And after a minute I looked over to Murrey to see a smile plastered on his face.

"They'll be good together. I've seen them around town. I know they'll hit some rough patches, but they'll make it in the end…"

"Gee, Murrey. I never thought you could talk like…"

"A sane person?"

"Sorry to say, but… yeah, kinda."

"That's alright! And the reason is that… Well, I never had anyone actually seem they actually care to hear me talk, well, like a sane person!"

I smiled, and he smiled back. We sat there silently for a minute before our attention got caught once again by the singers in the corner.

_"I'll be home for Christmas  
You can plan on me  
Please have snow and mistletoe  
And presents on the tree"_

I looked away from Murrey with a frown and a tear in my eye.

"It's your father, isn't it?"

I was a little shocked, to be honest.

"I'm not an idiot, what goes to everyone else's ears, also goes into mine!" He gave me a wink, and I responded with a laugh. "It's all right. This song reminds me of Jenny… and Angela… and Rachael."

"Jenny, Angela and Rachael?"

"Did I just say those names?" I nodded, and his smile grew ear-to-ear. "Jenny's my wife's name. Angela and Rachael are my daughters! I can't believe I actually remembered them!" I smiled and didn't bother to say anything as we heard the rest of the song.__

"Christmas Eve will find me  
Where the lovelight gleams  
I'll be home for Christmas  
If only in my dreams

I'll be home for Christmas  
You can plan on me  
Please have snow and mistletoe  
And presents on the tree

Christmas Eve will find me  
Where the lovelight gleams  
I'll be home for Christmas  
If only in my dreams"

The song finished, I stood up and held my hand out to Murrey. "Let me buy you something to drink?" He smiled and nodded.

"I'd be very appreciative if you did!" I helped him stand up, and we walked over to the counter to sit down. I could see the surprise in Griffin, Doug, Karen, Celia, and Marlin's faces as the two of us sat down and I ordered.

"One eggnog please! And a…?"

"Hot chocolate, please! I used to drink that ever night with my wife and daughters during Christmas time!" Griffin got us our drinks, and all those around just sat staring as me and Murrey talked and laughed over our drinks. After a little while, we were interrupted by yet another announcement. This time, it was from Lillian.

"Hey everyone! As you all know, my husband and I don't come from around here. We come from someplace else. In the Spring of this year we decided to travel the world in one year. We took off and just went. We met many people and saw many things. Now, you see, first things first we decided was that we would spend Christmas with my third cousins here. They were my last live family and I wanted to spend it with them. I had been getting many, many letters from the three, and kept them in mind as we traveled. Over the course of the year, we have collected gifts specially picked out for every one of you, based off of the letters from my cousins. Now, I must say, we ended up running into quite a few of the people here over the year and he had met some before, such as Mr. Gourmet here…" She gestured to him and he blushed as everyone looked. "So it became much easier to choose a lot of the presents. That said, we're going to hand them out now… So, yeah."

She walked away and she and Mikhail began to hand out gifts that came seemingly from out of nowhere. All sorts of things were handed out; from ancient coins to modern electronics. All of them perfect gifts for the recipient. I think I saw it all that night. After all the presents were handed out, there were seven people without gifts. Harris, Manna, Duke, Murrey, Popuri, my mom, and myself. I was honestly a little confused. Lillian gestured for the seven of us to go outside. We all complied, and upon heading out, we saw nothing. Not that we could see past five feet ahead of us in this pitch blackness and fog.

"What are we doing out here?"

"You'll see."

Eventually, we saw five figures walking slowly towards us. We all watched in confusion as an old man with long, unkempt blond hair, a limp in his walk, rags for clothes, and three slashes across his face, a woman with long, blueish-black hair, and three purple-haired women came into our view closer and closer.

The first to freak out was Harris. He ran faster than ever to the blueish-black haired woman. He threw his arms around her, picked her up, and spun her in circles.

"It's good to see you too, Harris." The woman choked out. And that's when Duke and Manna, tears in their eyes, ran to her as well. Throwing their arms around her.

"Aja!"

"You're home!"

"And I'm here to stay!" The three of them gasped.

"What about the big city?" Asked Manna.

"I got tired of it."

"And your big city boyfriend?" Harris had put her down by now.

"I broke up with him." She took his hands in hers and looked into his eyes. "After I realized just how much I loved… someone else."

The scene left my mind immediately as I saw Murrey and the three purple-haired ladies running towards each other.

"Jenny! Angela! Rachael!"

"Daddy!"

"Dad!"

"Murrey, Honey!"

Tears came to my eyes as my new friend found his family. After all these years, finally. But the scene was short lived, as the old man walked over to my mom, Popuri and me and just… stared at us. There was something so familiar in his eyes, I just couldn't see what. He was smack in front of my mom to the point where he could have kissed her if he wanted to when he finally spoke.

"Hey, Lil." He reached into his pocket and pulled a flower carefully out of it. He put it in her hands and closed them gently. "I found the flower, and just in time for Christmas."

And that's when I realized it.

"DADDY!" Popuri cried as she threw her arms tightly around the man. My mom followed her example by throwing her own arms around him. Tears streaming uncontrollably down her face as she held him close. I wasn't sure how to react myself. But I think what I did was alright. As my mom and sister let go of him, I held out my hand and let out a little smile.

"Welcome home, Dad."

I think it's safe to say that the rest of the night was like a dream come true! Midnight came soon after, and we all gave presents in the secret Santa give-out. I pulled out a small, neatly wrapped box from the corner holding all the presents, and walked silently over to Murrey to hand it to him.

"So you're my secret Santa?" I nodded. "Well then! Thank you very much, Moi! I mean, Rod-no-Rock? Rick! Yes, Rick! Right?" I nodded once more, and he ripped open the present. Inside the wrapping was a box with the words "Candy Land" on it. It wasn't a board game though, it was an assorted box of candy. "Food! Just what I wanted!" We both shared a quick laugh before I felt two arms throw themselves around my waist.

"Merry Christmas Brother-in-law!" It was Kai.

"Why are hugging me?"

"Because that's my secret Santa present for you!" I turned to give him a weird look before he laughed and let go of me. "Just kidding! Here's your REAL secret Santa present, from me to you!" He ran to the closet and took out a… cage? He then handed me my new "pet" as he said… A hawk. I couldn't believe he'd actually just given me a hawk for Christmas.

"Um, thanks Kai… I think." He laughed.

"You're welcome!" And at that, he ran away. I just stood there in silence for a moment before my attention was caught from my wife at the counter, surrounded by My dad, Aja, Jenny, Angela, and Rachael.

"Why did you call us over here?" Jenny asked confusedly.

"To give you a little make-up secret Santa gift! Order whatever you want! It's on me!"

"Well, um, thank you."

"You're welcome!"

After I'd finished laughing, I decided to look around for no real reason. As I looked, I noticed that Nami had fallen asleep atop Gustafa's lap. Clutching onto the flute he had given her as a secret Santa present.

"I wonder why she was so… out of character, today." I stated pretty much to myself.

"Isn't it obvious?!" Karen's loud answer caught me off guard. I shook my head. "She had a few too many drinks!" She winked at me, and skipped away.

Trent turned the flower Dad gave Mom into a medicine and gave it to her. Although she didn't feel any different that night, she was running (something she couldn't do since childhood due to her illness) around the poultry farm, through the town, and everywhere else her feet allowed her to sore. And with my dad in a limp… I couldn't believe it at first but my mom was ACTUALLY faster than my dad! My dad got to see the birth of his first grandchild, and the other ten following, and every other major event! And he was there. Every. Single. Christmas!

Murrey's family moved into Forget-Me-Not Valley, and Trent found a way to fix what was wrong with his head! (*cough* therapy *cough*)

As for Aja, she stayed in town as she said she would, and married Harris. Having a wonderful life filled with wonderful kids as a result.

As life went on and things changed and went back to normal in a seeming loop, the words I caught my father singing Christmas Eve still rung in my ear eternally…

_"I'll be home for Christmas  
You can plan on me  
Please have snow and mistletoe  
And presents on the tree_

Christmas Eve will find me  
Where the lovelight gleams  
I'll be home for Christmas  
And not just in my dreams"

**_The End_**


End file.
